Eating out with Disabled 12 nearly 13yr old

rev229

DD has now over the age for most childrens menus however she eats very little, struggles to eat a child size meal and would not eat food on an adult menu. Do I explain why a childs meal is needed , show her disabled card, lie about her age? she is not small for her age! She looks normal until she speaks, has Autism, epilepsy and severe learning difficulties. What do others do/think

jetta_wales

I've never seen an actual age limit on children's menus, unless somebody says something I wouldn't mention it.

LadyMorticia

I'm 24 and I sometimes eat from the child's menu as I find most adult portions too big for me. I've never been questioned about it before so like Jetta says, if nobody says anything then I wouldn't mention it.

nannytone_2

same as above. I'm 48 and quite regularly eat a 'childs meal' from the menu.
it often raises a smile, but has never been questioned.

LadyMorticia

nannytone wrote: »

same as above. I'm 48 and quite regularly eat a 'childs meal' from the menu.
it often raises a smile, but has never been questioned.

I like the deserts on the child's menu.

Eliza_2

Didn't know there was an age limit, my daughter is 32 and always eats from the children's menu, so do I sometimes. The adult ones are often far too huge and so much gets wasted. We've never been refused.

As an alternative, many restaurants and pubs have 'light bite' type menus too, which allow you to choose lighter and smaller meals.

Order whatever you want, you're the customer here!

Gothicfairy

I have never seen an age limit on a child's menu before but that is not to say it doesn't happen..Guess it depends on where you are, when I worked in a pub we would do small portions of anything and if someone asked for just a sausage and some chips then that is what they would get. After all any sale is better then them leaving and going somewhere else.

If I was on my own eating I would have a child's portion but if with hubby or someone else I split my food so we all have something different and get to try more food that way.
I also take leftovers home ( I always carry plastic bags anyway so just scoop the leftovers into that) so if they are doing a two for one or two for £9.99 with 2 drinks (sizzler is doing one now) I get them as they are cheaper and then take it home for the next day.

But back to your topic, I would be shocked if anyone asked the age for the child's menu and if they did I am not sure I would stay there anyway. You are the paying customer so should be able to have what you like (within the menu)
Your daughters disability (visible or not ) shouldn't make any difference..She should be able to have what she wants and a portion size she is comfortable with.

kingfisherblue

Several places in my area limit the children's menu to those under 12. Having said that, my disabled son is 13 and we always order from the children's menu for him and it hasn't been queried yet - except at Taybarns! I would go ahead and order unless someone queries it.

You could consider choosing a starter if there is one suitable - my mum often does this, as she has a small appetite.

formaldehyde_perfume

I have seen age limits on childrens menus, usually on special offers or very discounted childrens food.. but I wouldn't specificly say anything unless asked, and then I would say "my daughter is autistic and struggles with food, she doesn't eat adult portions and doesn't understand the ingredients on the adult menu, choosing her own food is important to her" Any food establishment should be OK with that, if they're not then I suggest they're not worth going to. If you are questioned, try not to get defencive or tense as that is likely to cause a problem

kingfisherblue

formaldehyde_perfume wrote: »

I have seen age limits on childrens menus, usually on special offers or very discounted childrens food.. but I wouldn't specificly say anything unless asked, and then I would say "my daughter is autistic and struggles with food, she doesn't eat adult portions and doesn't understand the ingredients on the adult menu, choosing her own food is important to her" Any food establishment should be OK with that, if they're not then I suggest they're not worth going to. If you are questioned, try not to get defencive or tense as that is likely to cause a problem

Excellent post if I may say so.

FWIW, my 13 year old has feeding difficulties as well as a range of disabilities, and his favourite place to eat is our local Little Chef. He is greeted by name by the staff, they take time to talk to him and to listen (even though his speech is really poor and they don't always understand what he is saying). They adapt items on the menu to suit his needs, and will always give us a take away box for him to take home his leftovers - he is a really slow eater and can take all evening to finish his tea.

When he chokes, the staff are there with napkins and water. They also take time to talk to my younger son, who is often ignored in favour of his brother.

Little Chef might not be cordon bleu, but the food is freshly made to order and the attitude of the staff in our local branch is brilliant. Definitely the best place that we have found to have a family meal, as they are so interested and aware of my sons' needs.

(Our branch also has decent handwash and handcream in the ladies , which is a bonus)

Savvy_Sue

I was in a small cafe today which did have an age limit for children's menu.

I suppose the reasoning goes that preparing a child's meal is as costly in staff time etc as preparing an adult's meal, and sometimes the size isn't that much smaller. So what they don't want is all us MSEs regularly choosing from the children's menu just to save money.

Or if the children's menu is quite different (rather than smaller portions) they may not want to cook eg sausages for adults, because there would be too much demand for them.